


The Gilded Cage

by maybebug



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/M, High Honor Arthur Morgan, Jealous Arthur Morgan, Kinda AU, Revenge, Romance, Slow Burn, Trust Issues, also some bad-ish words sorry, arthur does too, arthur doesn't know what's about to hit him poor thing, dutch has regrets, i don't know if arthur is gonna live yet i'm sorry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-04 11:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20470175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybebug/pseuds/maybebug
Summary: Cassiopeia Quentin promised herself that she would never again trust another.Her sister murdered, and abandoned by the gang she once called her family, Cassie defies the odds and survives the cruel west on her own. Now, in the midst of civilization, she encounters the people that betrayed her so long ago, Dutch van der Linde and his gang of outlaws.Can she ever learn to trust the ones she once loved again? Or will she continue to stand and fight on her own?





	1. Intro: She is a Star

**Author's Note:**

> hello! thanks for giving this lil ole' rdr2 fanfiction a chance, out of all the other ones out there, the many great ones spanning wattpad, ff.net, ao3, etc! i really appreciate your likes and comments, and constructive criticism with plot and grammar/spelling mistakes. i try my best but i can't catch everything! :)
> 
> i tried to make this idea as original as possible, but there will be some canon violence seen after the intro chap onwards along with some pg-13 movie-like language. also disclaimer: rdr2 belongs to rockstar games, as i hope you know, and i take no credit!
> 
> happy reading! <3

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───  
"α ¢єятαιи ∂αякиєѕѕ ιѕ иєє∂є∂ тσ ѕєє тнє ѕтαяѕ."  
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Cassiopeia, as all children once are, was absolutely terrified of the darkness that surrounded her in the dusk of the day. The wispy shadows pained across the ground and the abyss of the dark shook her to her core. This fear was only amplified by the vast openness of the camp, the chirping crickets and the rustling of bushes nearby, with the sharp howl and barking of coyotes in the distance.

In these moments of absolute terror, Cassie's only wish to the Lord above was that her mother would arise from the never-ending darkness before her, cradle her into her warm embrace, and whisk her away back to her childhood home on the banks of the great river. Her mother's red hair would curl from the heat at the edge of her face as she cast her lure out into the freshwater, a beaming smile at the sound of Cassiopeia's soft giggles. They would sit in front of the fire, mother teaching Annabelle how to read from the columns of the old newspaper. Both girls sneaking into the bed with their mother long after the last embers had died out, curling under the quilt next to her.

This moment, in the depths of her dreams, was usually where Annabelle would wake her up, her older sister holding her as Cassie cried in her sleep. Annabelle's red locks, so much like their mother's, would sometimes make her cry harder, soft sobs blending into the sounds of nature and the snores of the men in camp. Annabelle would lay with her a while, tucking her head under her chin, before cradling Cassie in her arms like their mother once did, moving outside of the tent so they could both lay silently in the grass.

The sisters would stare into the night sky, eyes searching the stars for constellations it seemed only they knew. Annabelle would always find them first.

"There." She would quietly whisper, pointing up into the darkness. "That is Sagitta, Cassie." Cassiopeia would squint into the darkness, counting the stars. "That is mother?" Annabelle would nod, pulling her sister closer. "Yes, and that Cassiopeia, is you." She would say, pointing again. "The queen." And they would fall silent.

The darkness, it seemed, with the stars and her sister by side, became no longer her greatest fear, but her safe haven. For there her mother sat, just up in the sky, with Cassiopeia by her side. Eternally together, until their last reflection of light met the Earth.

Cassiopeia wished, from the depths of her heart, that Annabelle was a constellation too, so that they would always sit together above the clouds, and in the unknown universe, just the three of them, her family.

And now, as Cassiopeia laid one final kiss on Annabelle's cold cheek, the red dust of the west floating around her, she longed to rest in the stars alongside her sister and mother.


	2. one

At the age of 16, even Cassiopeia, the youngest out of Dutch's small gang of misfit thieves, could tell that this job would not end well. Nothing involving the name Colm O'Driscoll ever ended well for Dutch van der Linde, even though he seemed to be the only one yet to realize it. Especially after Dutch felt that it was needed to go off and kill Colm's brother, motives still unknown to the rest of the gang. Colm O'Driscoll was not a man to just count his losses and leave. He would take some type of revenge, even if he didn't like his brother all that much. None of the adults around her, except Hosea, seemed to come to the same conclusion. Cassiopeia was terrified, terrified for the other gang members, her family, terrified for her sister.

Annabelle, her older sister, had completely enraptured Dutch all those years ago when the gang set up camp in their small town buried in the depths of the foothills. Cassie was only around 7 then, but she knew that as Dutch appeared more and more in her everyday life, her sister was falling in love with the outlaw. When their mother, Sagitta, was murdered after being robbed for all they had, Dutch offered to take in a distraught Annabelle and Cassiopeia. That was the beginning of their run with Dutch's Boys.

Cassie had to admit though, that she had never seen Dutch van der Linde make a decision as stupid as the one now. She watched from the shores of the lake, alongside Annabelle, as the group packed up to leave. Dutch, Hosea and Arthur, the lawless trio it seemed. Cassie felt her anxiety grow, feeling she had to warn someone, anyone that this entire job felt wrong. Her eyes landed on Arthur, packing his Carbine Repeater onto Boadicea. Yes, Arthur would listen to her, somewhat at least. Cassiopeia bounced away from the water, ignoring the calls of her older sister as she ran up to Arthur, dripping from the water in the lake and her hair surely a frizzy mess.

Arthur Morgan was now 21, a good few years Cassie's senior, but her closest friend since she was 8 and he was 13. He had taught her to shoot a gun, ride a horse, all the things Hosea hadn't, and he seemed to be the only male in the group who would take her words into consideration, even though she was still so young. Although he was a right sour-puss sometimes, she knew he cared about her, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't have the tiniest crush on him.

"Arthur! Arthur!" Cassie grabbed Arthur's arm, causing him to turn and face her as he adjusted Boadicea's saddle. Arthur smiled, a rare one, with full teeth and a dimple. It was hard not to like Arthur, if Cassie was honest. Describing him in her head almost sounded like one of Annabelle's secret romance books she kept hidden under her pillow. A head of dark blonde hair, shining in the western sun along with blue eyes that lit up at the smallest things in life, and his father's old hat, nicked with scratches and bullet holes, sat upon his head.

"Cassie! Dutch said you and Annabelle are stayin' here with Grimshaw while we go talk to old Colm?" Arthur turned to face her, before raising an eyebrow at the pinched look on her face. "Arthur I- something's not right about this! I mean Dutch just killed Colm's brother for goodness sa-" Arthur interrupted Cassiopeia, his face hardening and his smile falling. "Dutch knows what he's doing Cassie, he's thought it all out. Nothin' is gonna happen to us." Cassie shook her head, giving Arthur a pleading look. "You don't know that Arthur! God, I just got this really bad feelin!" Arthur shook Cassie off of his arm, moving back toward Boadicea, and jumping up onto the saddle. Cassie watched as Dutch hugged Annabelle, jumping up onto his own horse before motioning Arthur to move out. Arthur shook his head down at Cassiopeia. "You don't know nothin' Cass, you're just a kid. Everything's gonna be okay." At the hurt look on Cassie's face, Arthur paused. "How about we practice with the rifle when I get back?" Cassie smiled, slowly nodding up at Arthur, who smiled back, spurring Boadicea forward and following after Dutch and Hosea on the trail. Cassiopeia felt her eyes water up as she watched Arthur and Boadicea trot off in front of her. What was that? Arthur had never behaved that way. She thought he saw her as more than just some child needing to be cradled. She was apart of this gang too! The calm that had settled in the promise of the rifle uprooted as Cassiopeia stomped off toward her sister, who sat in her tent reading her old battered copy of Wuthering Heights.

"Annabelle!" Cassie huffed, watching as Ms.Grimshaw washed clothes at the lake in the distance. Her sister looked up, red hair curling over her shoulders and green eyes full of mischievous light, raising her eyebrow as her mouth quirked up at the end. "Annabelle! Something isn't right! I just know it, we have to go back and get the others!" Annabelle's face fell then, as she wiped the sweat off of her forehead. The warm desert air was an unbearable dry, but the lake before them created a humidity neither had ever known. For what seemed like the first time in weeks, Cassie truly looked at her sister. Dark circles under her eyes, her hair missing it's usual shine, she looked tired. "I don't feel good about it either Cassie, but, we just have to trust Dutch. It's all we can do." Cassiopeia shook her head, stepping away from her sister, who had laying down her book. "You have to trust Dutch Anna, because you love him! I don't have to do anything!" Annabelle's face hardened at her sister, moving to stand up, but Cassiopeia continued on. "I don't want anything to happen to you, to me, because of this blind loyalty! This, no matter the outcome, was not a good idea!" Annabelle shook her head, grabbing Cassie by the shoulders and bending down so they could be face to face. "I know you're scared Cass. And I am too. But Dutch cares about us, me and you, and took us in when no one else would. I'm not loyal to him because I have to be, I am because he's loyal to us. Don't you trust him to stick by us?" Cassiopeia stared into the hopeful and pleading eyes of her sister, the green pools welcoming her home and keeping her safe. "I do. I'm sorry Annabelle." Cassiopeia's shoulders slumped, as she hugged her sister tightly. Because no matter how much doubt she had in Dutch van der Linde in that one moment, she loved her sister too much to let her down.

"See boys, a perfect display of Dutch van der Linde's perfect family! She is his girl of course." A raspy voice emerged from the brush line, and both Cassiopeia and Annabelle turned sharply in alarm. There, in the line were three men, all with green bandanas tied around their faces. Annabelle's breath caught, as she forced Cassiopeia behind her. "You're Colm's boys." It wasn't a question, but a statement, as Cassiopeia's eyes flickered across the clearing for Ms.Grimshaw. She wasn't in her direct line of sight, but she knew she wasn't far from camp. "And you're Dutch's girl." Annabelle sniffed, before spitting on the man's boots before her. "Go to hell."

The man's face curled up in anger, before grabbing for Cassiopeia, who was closest to him. "Grab them, Colm wants them back in one piece!" Cassie immediately started yelling for help, hoping Grimshaw would get there in time to save them, with Annabelle's flailing kicks and punches. Caught off guard though, they were both easily overpowered, Annabelle almost struggling free until they were both hogtied and thrown over the back of their captor's horses. It wasn't until it was too late when Cassie saw Grimshaw bursting forth from the brush line on the other side of the clearing, rifle in hand, firing off a few shots until they were too far away.

"Let go of us you bast-" Cassie could only watch as the man that had captured Annabelle hit her from the saddle of his horse, quieting her yelling. "Don't touch her!" Cassiopeia yelled, suddenly thrashing on the horse, praying that she would be able to push herself off. Unfortunately, she only met the same fate as her sister, the man on the horse in front of her bringing his hand back to smack her. She cried out as his hand met her face, the stinging cooled by the salty tears running down her face. The men only laughed at their silence, forcing their horses into a hard gallop toward their destination. Cassie could only pray that wherever they were taking them, Dutch would be there, and would save them like Annabelle had so fully believed. But she could only pray.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

"God, you've always been such an idiot Dutch van der Linde!"

Cassiopeia's heart stuttered as she heard the voice of Colm O'Driscoll in the distance, as they neared a clearing in the trees miles from camp. The harsh and rugged desert had slowly transformed into timid bursts of green, and Cassiopeia knew that if she wasn't in such a precarious situation, she would have enjoyed the change. In the clearing sat a house, run down and abandoned, with Colm's raspy voice echoing from the other side. Their captors stopped behind the house, hidden from view. Cassie watched her sister struggle against the men as they were dragged off of the backs of the horses, and around to the front of the house.

"Finally, you took your time boys." Colm's mocking voice echoed. The beaming sun struck the dirt underneath them, and Cassiopeia wished she could shield her eyes from the light. "They were some feisty ones boss, but we put them in their place real good." Annabelle growled, thrashing on the ground next to Cassiopeia, who observed the situation around them. Across the clearing, Hosea, Dutch, and Arthur stood, Dutch's face growing into a boiling rage at the sight of them on the ground. "What are you up to Colm? I thought we had a deal!" Dutch yelled, slowly stepping forward. Cassiopeia heard the clicking of a revolver, before she was roughly pulled up onto her knees from the red dirt. Her heart raced as Annabelle was pulled up next to her, a bruise in the shape of a fist forming on her face. "We did have a deal Dutch, until you went and killed my brother! My flesh and blood, you took him away from me!" Colm's voice cracked, his greasy hair moving with the wind, his crooked teeth curled up into a cruel smile. Cassiopeia glanced over to Arthur, her eyes pleading, she could feel the situation slipping from the grasp of their hands, but she only saw guilt floating in his eyes, an apology. She whimpered, the man's grip growing tighter on her long hair. It was too late for apologies. "Let them go Colm." Dutch's voice echoed around the clearing, almost pleading, and all went quiet. Cassiopeia could feel the summer breeze in her loose locks, the chirping of the birds nearby. She looked over at Annabelle, her sister, appearing resilient even on her knees, at the mercy of the enemy. Cassie could have sworn that this was the strongest she had ever seen her. Colm's grin only grew wider.

"Sorry Dutch."

The gunshot rang in Cassiopeia's ears, watching helplessly as Annabelle's limp body met the red dust of the west, blood pooling around her. Cassie screamed as the gunfire erupted around her, mixing with Colm's laughs and Dutch's yelling. Her captor let her go as he joined the fight as well, her body crashing into the dirt next to her sister. Cassie cried, her hands how free from the loosening of the rope, and she crawled over to Annabelle's body. She flipped her sister over, beginning to sob at the sight of the wound in her skull. Crouched, helplessly over the body of her last family member, pushing matted hair from her face and brushing away red dirt, her tears dropping down onto her sister's porcelain skin. She laid one final kiss on Annabelle's cheek.

She saw the old river behind their childhood home, Anna's old worn copy of Wuthering Heights she read so religiously, and her sister's bright green eyes, which only an hour earlier had been so full of life. She screamed, clutching at her sister's dirtied shirt, praying that her eyes would open, that she wouldn't leave her all alone.

Cassiopeia felt herself being pulled away from Annabelle, and she started kicking and screaming, as O'Driscoll yelled in her ear. She could see them, Dutch, Hosea, and Arthur, making their way back to their horses, fighting off the final gunmen, Colm no where in sight. Cassie's eyes locked with Dutch's, and she could see the pain in his gaze, before he turned away. Her heart dropped. They were leaving her. She watched Arthur frantically look between her and Dutch, fighting with his loyalties. Cassie fought harder against the O'Driscoll, becoming desperate. "Arthur, Arthur! Hosea, Dutch! Please!" She felt her voice straining, and Arthur's face was full of pain, his eyes sorry, sorry for what he was about to do. "No! No, don't leave me! Arthur, Arthur!" Cassie's voice slowly quieted into broken sobs as the trio she had considered her family retreat off into the trees, riding as fast as they could. Riding away from her, riding away from her sister. Annabelle's body still lay in the dirt, her once beautiful hair matted and tangled, her perfect skin ruined by the brutality of the men around her.

This was Dutch's loyalty.

The thought rang in her head, anger welling up inside of her.

Nothing. Worthless.

Cassiopeia winced as her hair was further yanked, Colm O'Driscoll appearing from the safety of the house. He gave her that haunting smile, full of crooked teeth and bloodshot eyes. "Not so much of Dutch's girl now are ya'?" He laughed.

"Oh we're gonna have fun with you girlie."


	3. two

*.☽ 2 years later . *

Dutch had always told her, in the depth of the night around the warm campfire, that Colm O'Driscoll was an evil, evil man. He would tell her of the atrocities he had committed, against men, women and children alike. The aftermath of a village raided by the men in green masks. The gruesomeness of it all. Murder, torture, and their violent crimes against women. Cassiopeia would shiver, and wrap her mother's old quilt around herself tighter, but never fully comprehending the violence, and the brutality of it all.

Being the one underneath Colm's ruthless fist though, had given her the true understanding of the nature of their gang.

Another kick was left in her already battered side, the point of a riding boot digging into her bruised flesh. Some of the bruises, months old, had yellowed, and some were still purple after years of repeated torture. All Cassie could remember since being dragged into the O'Driscoll's bunker-basement torture room was pain. Bruises, cuts, burns, anything they could use to grate her on information about Dutch and the gang. The cycle was never ending, and some part of her wished that it would just stop, that she could slowly pass away in the night and drift up to the stars she so heavily wished to see. Her mother would be there, an arrow in the sky, and she prayed Annabelle would be too, maybe in a new star, sitting beside her. The thoughts of her mother and sister were the only thing that kept her sane nowadays, in the never ending darkness of the room.

Cassiopeia felt the O'Driscoll grab her by the hair, dragging her across the hard cement floor toward the metal door. A door she hadn't left out of since her arrival. Freedom. Cassie, suddenly, felt a fire flicker inside of her that she hadn't felt in months. She had to get out of here. For months in the beginning, she had waited, waited for Dutch, Arthur, maybe Hosea, but no one ever came to rescue her, and she slowly let the depression of abandonment overtake her and eat her up inside. Cassie could almost hear Annabelle in front of her, whispering "No more, no more." She whimpered at the pinpricks on her scalp from her hair being pulled, the O'Driscoll chuckling darkly. "The real fun starts soon girlie." He whispered, pulling her up so she was sitting on the wall. She couldn't see his face, but Cassie could imagine it, disfigured and unkept, teeth yellowed and ragged. His breath reeked. "Colm always kept the real bad ones away, said you was still just a kid." The man lit a match, bringing it up to a cigarette hanging from his mouth. All Cassie could see was his cruel smirk. "But ya' ain't a kid no more."

Cassiopeia's heart sped up, true fear lighting up in her veins. No. That was one thing they would not be taking from her. They had taken everything else, including her sister. Her eyes darkened. For Annabelle. The man moved toward the door, with the promise of bringing more of his friends back with him. Cassie hadn't been free from shackles for this long of a time in months, and it seemed they had gotten comfortable leaving her free to roam in a locked room. Her hands moved quickly across the floor, feeling for the sharp piece of glass she had noticed on the floor months ago, hoping it would still be there. When she finally latched onto the cold weapon, a smile graced her features, the first in years. Dutch van der Linde may have been wrong about a lot of things, but he was right about one. Colm's men were dense as rocks.

As the man opened the door, Cassie pushed herself off of the floor, wobbling, before attacking the man from behind. One hand grabbed at his hair after knocking off his hat, tugging his head back, leaving his neck open and exposed, as the other brought up the glass, dragging it across his throat like a knife. She could hear him him gurgle, grabbing at his neck desperately, almost as if trying to stop the flow of blood falling in all directions. Cassie's blood soaked hand covered his mouth like a vice, slowly letting him to the ground and dragging his body farther into the room. She struggled, her body weak from malnutrition, but her adrenaline kicked in and dropped his body onto the hard cement floor with a thud.

"Wonder what's taking Joey so long down there anyway, he wasn't supposed to have his own fun until Colm gave the word!" The men laughed, continuing their rounds up above. Cassiopeia felt rage bubbling up inside of her, remembering all of the horrible things done to her over the past two years.

They had hit her, kicked her, choked her when her comments hit too close to home, they had twisted her limbs, fracturing and breaking them. They had carved words and symbols into her body, burned her with a heated fire poker. They had mocked and taunted her with words about her dead sister and the gang that had left her behind.

Arthur had once told her that revenge wasn't worth the retribution, in the heat of the day relaxing by the shores of a different lake, in a different place, a different time. He had said his father was a man of vengeance, and he had seen where that had gotten him. At the thought of Arthur, Cassie felt her heart sink. She hadn't thought of the man in a while, the thoughts sometimes to painful to bare. She had called out for him, begged him to rescue her. In some sense, Cassie had considered him her brother. But, in the end, his loyalties to Dutch outweighed the ones to himself. He had left her, and family doesn't leave the rest behind.

"Vengeance is an idiot's game."

Cassiopeia's eyes hardened, pulling the dead man's gun from his holster, clicking as she loaded it. All she could see was Annabelle's broken body, lying in the western dust. Avenge her. Vengeance may be an idiot's game, but Cassiopeia would no longer find herself following the advice of Arthur Morgan.

Cassiopeia took the man's gun belt, tying it around herself, before holstering his gun. She bent down, studying his face, before spitting on the cement next to him. She grabbed his hat from the ground, carefully placing it on her own head. She smirked. She was gonna kill every last O'Driscoll in this damn camp. Cassiopeia left the room, making her way up the stairs. At the top, she started firing.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Dutch van der Linde sighed, holding a cigar in one hand and the weekly paper in the other, the sun peeking down through the thick growth of the trees above. A strong breeze blew by, flipping the paper over to a new page. Dutch groaned, moving to return to his spot, before his eyes caught an interesting headline.

Colm O'Driscoll camp discovered by law, a massacre!

Dutch squinted, tugging on Hosea's sleeve, who sat right next to him. He laughed darkly. "Look at this, old Colm's finally gettin' what's comin' to him!"

Arthur, across camp, heard Dutch's laugh, giving one final look to young John before making his way toward Dutch and Hosea. The group had just recently picked up young John in a nearby town, a novice little pickpocket he was.

Hosea eyed Dutch warily, watching as Arthur came up to sit with them. For a year after Annabelle's death, Dutch had went on a rampage, killing any O'Driscoll they could get their hands on. In some moments, Dutch's cruelty had reflected the enemy perfectly, and it had scared him. Hosea coughed, crossing his legs and settling with his own paper on his lap.

"I think Colm got what was coming to him through you Dutch, how many of them did you kill?" Dutch looked up at Hosea, almost seeming offended. "Have you dared to go and forget, Mr.Matthews, what they did to my dear Annabelle, not to mention ripping sweet Cassiopeia right from our hands." Dutch's voice cracked, and Hosea raised an eyebrow. Dutch had mentioned Annabelle frequently over the years since her death, but almost never brought up her younger sister Cassiopeia, for she was a guilt that had hung over all of their heads for years. It seemed maybe Dutch had finally forgiven himself for it. Hosea could remember it like it was yesterday, Arthur and Grimshaw throwing a fit over leaving the girl in enemy hands, Dutch killing O'Driscolls all across the state, torturing information about Cassiopeia out of them, for those who had any idea who he was talking about. One man finally telling them she was long dead, Dutch just accepting the information for what it was.

Arthur though, it seemed, had yet to forgive anyone over the issue of Cassiopeia. "Ripped from our hands?" Arthur cruelly laughed, standing up in front of the two men. "We left her there to die, and don't pretend it's any different then that." Arthur's pure anger shown on his face. "We have no one to blame but ourselves." He stalked off, back toward John, who sat nervously on his cot, attempting to read Wuthering Heights, a book he had found in a random box of camp items, but failing miserably at being able to read at all. "Who's Cassiopeia?" John whispered nervously, eyes flirting over to Dutch and Hosea, where the older was trying to calm their leader down. Arthur looked over at John, noting the boy's frigid and tense stance. He sighed, taking off his hat and setting his head in his hands. "A very good friend of mine." He muttered, looking up at the sky, wishing he could see the stars in the day. "Though I didn't deserve her one bit. None of us did."

Arthur, deep down, still held onto that hope that Cassiopeia was still out there, somewhere, waiting to be found. That she wasn't dead, that maybe he still had the chance to say goodbye. He shook his head. She was gone. And it was his fault.

The only time he would ever see Cass again was in the stars.


	4. three

*.☽ Some many years later . *

Valentine was a town, Cassiopeia had realized long ago, was one to disappear in. All types of people came and went, cowboys with red dust on their boots and mountain men with snow on their heels, and none of them ever stayed long. They were the type of people, who at a glance, all looked the same in the face. Cassie used this to her advantage. Sometimes it was just the way her hair was pinned, or the thin line of charcoal across her lids, or sometimes just her outfit for the day. No one hardly ever looked twice, and when they did, she'd bring up her adventurous sister Annabelle, who sometimes travelled out this a' ways. Must've been her they'd seen, and the travelers traveled on.

The locals though, few and far between, knew Cassiopeia well. She'd arrived years ago with only the clothes on her back, an O'Driscoll's revolver, and the unknown legacy of the O'Driscoll massacre. She'd stuck out in the beginning, brash and wounded trying to fight for herself. As time progressed though, Cassie worked enough to fit in, have a place to call her own, work in the man's world, and she was just another resident of Valentine. Well, for most of the time she'd been.

Now, Cassiopeia worked a couple of respectable jobs around town, though it hadn't always been that way. She was thankful for the easy times, though sometimes it felt like she was still running.

Cassiopeia sighed, running her fingers through her thick locks, helplessly trying to use pins to tame the mane. When it came to her hair, Cassie had failed. Annabelle has always been the expert at such matters. Cassie gave her reflection a sad smile, before heading toward her front door. Her cabin, right outside of town, was something she had worked hard for after months of renting rooms from strangers. It was small, but humble. It gave her a taste of the simple life she wished she had.

Cassiopeia quickly exited her cabin, locking the door, before turning toward her horse. Her first horse, a matter-of-fact. Talia had been a take from her first bounty years ago, when taking in a fake medicine man a ways from Valentine. When she took the man in, she took his horse too, and she had become her greatest companion. Talia shook her head at the sight of Cassie approaching, stomping her feet to the ground in excitement. If anything, Talia had been created for the race, and she loved to run. Cassiopeia gave Talia a few good pats, before feeding her an apple from her satchel. Cassie then hopped on Talia's saddle, moving onto the dirt path in front of her.

Cassiopeia could confidently say she preferred the brown dirt of Valentine over the red dust of Rhodes or the cobblestone of Saint Denis any day. The freedom of the Heartlands reminded her of the restlessness of the West. Buried in those memories were ones of her sister, playing poker with Dutch in the Tumbleweed Saloon.

At the thought of Dutch van der Linde, Cassie felt her face sour, almost as if she had bitten into a lemon. Though she had moved on with her life, Cassie still felt the despair and anger of her gang's abandonment as fresh as the day it had happened. Sometimes she could step into the memories, the good ones, just for a moment. Some of them though, were too painful to even get close to.

The bluest of eyes-

No.

And Talia trotted on.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Cassiopeia hitched Talia in front of the general store, before sliding off, her work shoes plopping down into the mud. She carefully looked around, avoiding eye contact with the abundance of strangers in town, probably from the auction. More people meant that it was just easier to hide in the background.

Cassie made her way up the stairs, cleaning her shoes on the wood, before entering the store, throwing a smile to the shopkeeper. The older man smiled in return, already making his way into the back room.

"Good day Ms.Quentin! We got some new items in by the train this morning for you to go ahead and stock if you'd like! Some new rum from Guarma if that interests you!" The man let out a deep chuckle, handing the box over to Cassiopeia's awaiting arms, who laughed in return. "I'm surely not sir, but Keane's may be, if you'd like to talk to them." The shopkeeper gave her a thoughtful look, before turning his attention to the newest customers entering the store.

Cassiopeia began stocking the shelves with bare spots, mostly things like the fresh produce or pomade, letting her thoughts wander beyond her work. Besides small tasks at the general store, Cassie kept busy cleaning the saloon, sometimes serving, and even doing the printing for the sheriff's wanted posters. There had been a time early after her escape from Colm that she worked on bounties, or fell back into the old ways of the gang lifestyle. That had ended no where good though, and far from Valentine, a place where she was away from the curious eye. She had barely escaped the situation alive, and as much as she wanted revenge, she knew it would only cause more trouble.

"Vengeance is an idiot's game Cass."

Cassiopeia closed her eyes, the words of a man she wished she could forget bouncing around in her head. Though the anger always simmered, feelings remained, feelings she only prayed would one day fade away.

Arthur Morgan had at one time been her closest friend. As a child he had comforted her, and as a young woman he had encouraged her. And as the victim, she could not forget, he had betrayed her. Cassie's face hardened as she pushed the intruding thoughts away, continuing to stock the shelves. The bell above the door ringed as someone entered the store, the quiet click of shows following.

"Hello ma'am, what can I do for you today? Interested in some of our clothing wares perhaps- just got a new import in from Saint-" The shopkeeper was caught off abruptly by the woman who had entered the store. "No thank you, actually, just some produce would do well."

Cassiopeia froze, the familiar voice ringing in her ears. She knew this woman, she knew her voice, but who was she? Cassie, too shocked to turn around herself, continued to stock the shelves without falter, wracking her brain for the voice of the woman behind her.

"Ms.Quentin, would you mind showing our customer here the produce on that far shelf?" Cassiopeia cringed, before turning to face the woman behind her. Her eyes widened considerably at the familiar dark hair and eyes. The woman was dressed classily, seeming very out of place for a town such as Valentine. Before Cassie could stop herself, she gasped. "Mary Gillis?"

Mary's eyes, the very same after all these years, widened in confusion, before her eyes took in the young woman in front of her. The older woman inspected the girl's face before her quickly, before coming to a realization. At seeing the horrified look on Mary's face, Cassiopeia felt her heart jump.

She had almost forgotten about Mary Gillis after all these years, Arthur's fiancé from once upon a time, a woman she had once despised for breaking the then boy's heart. One thing she didn't forget though, was Mary's disgust at their lifestyle. The way her nose turned up at the sight of Arthur's revolver, or her refusal to meet those at camp. This woman, Cassie thought, would surely turn her in.

Before Mary could blink, Cassiopeia was out the door, leaving the shipment behind in the shop, weaving between the few buildings in Valentine, in case Mary meant to follow her. Her feet slapped against the muddy ground, the bottom of her dress ruined in it, but even she failed to notice. Her heart thudded in her chest as she neared the street corner.

Mary Gillis, in her fancy dress and spotless shoes.

Cassiopeia walked faster.

She reminded her of Arthur, yes. Her far past, yes.

She dashed across the busy road.

But those jewels, her broach. That subtle whisper of money and propriety.

"Wait, wait!"

It brought back memories not as distant.

Cassiopeia felt a hand grab the sleeve of her dress just as she started up the hill to her home. She tried to pull herself away but Mary kept a firm grip, turning Cassie to face her.

"You, I remember you." Mary whispered, taking deep breaths after rushing after the younger woman. Her accent, Cassiopeia noticed, was still a thick as it had been all those years ago, and her voice just as smooth. "Like a siren." Dutch had said, the night Arthur had stumbled back into camp, as drunk as a sailor. Cassie would understand then, how Arthur could've gotten himself wrapped up in this woman's charm.

"You run with Arthur, Dutch van der Linde." Mary's eyes widened, grabbing Cassie's arm tighter. "Where's Arthur, I need to speak with him-" Cassie ripped her arm out of Mary's grip, a scowl on her face. "That was a long time ago Mary Gillis." Her face hardened, breaking eye contact with the woman if front of her. "I haven't seen Dutch's Boys face-to-face in over a decade." Cassiopeia whispered, watching as Mary's confusion shown clear on her face. "Oh." Mary whispered delicately, staring down at her hands, now fallen at her sides. "Well I guess I should tell you then. I've heard tell of a group of men, sounding awful familiar, camped up at Horseshoe Overlook down by the Dakota River." Cassiopeia felt as though she had been dunked in the icy Dakota at those words, words she had in some way imagined one day, in different contexts, but never now, never this soon.

"What do you mean familiar?" Mary only shook her head. "You know exactly what I mean dear." Mary moved closer for a moment, looking down at Cassie with a soft expression on her face. "Be careful. If you see Arthur, tell him I'm looking for some help." Cassie didn't move as Mary Gillis moved back down the hill, disappearing into town. She wondered if this is how Arthur felt, all those years ago. The storm that was Mary Gillis, arriving from no where and disrupting your peaceful life, only to leave it in ruins.

Dutch's boys were making their way up the Dakota?

Cassiopeia shook her head, deciding to find peace back in her cabin. She made her way towards the front door, stepping inside and moving to sit down in the closest chair.

Dutch van der Linde and the rest of his outlaw gang of misfits only spelled trouble for Cassie, ripping up only a part of her complicated past.

Cassiopeia sighed, closing her eyes, before sinking down into her favorite cushioned chair.

She could only pray that the gang she had once called her family wouldn't come knocking any time soon, because no matter what had happened in the past, she didn't know if she'd be able to say no.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───  
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┊ ┊ ┊ ✫  
┊ ┊ ☪︎⋆  
┊ ⊹ ┊  
✯ ⋆ ┊ . ˚  
˚✩


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